Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Bipin Singh and Jakub Vojtus scored in the second half as Mumbai City FC came back from a goal deficit to beat Mohun Bagan Super Giant 3-1 in the final to emerge as the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 Cup Winners at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Saturday.
The Islanders came from behind after Jason Cummings handed the Mariners a lead late in the first half. Second-half strikes by Diaz, Bipin, and Vojtus ensured that the Petr Kratky-coached side settled the scores against the home side in front of a capacity crowd to draw curtains on the landmark 10th season of the ISL.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant had defeated Mumbai City FC in their final league match to claim the League Winners’ Shield and the Islanders turned the tables on them on Saturday.
In proceedings, slightly identical to the final of ISL 2020-21, when both these teams had squared off in the summit clash, a similar hero came up, as Bipin Singh notched an 81st-minute strike to help his men avenge the loss that they succumbed to, in the title decider at this very venue.
In the first-ever ISL grand finale held in Kolkata, Mumbai City FC returned the happier of the two teams winning their second ISL final, with both of them coming against the Mariners.
Both sides trod a cautious line in the opening half, focusing on holding their shape, playing to their strengths, and not giving away too much to work on for the opposition. However, Mohun Bagan Super Giant drew the first blood thanks to their fierce offensive duo of Dimitrios Petratos and Cummings.
Petratos hasn’t been afraid to test his luck from a distance often in this campaign. As the opening essay of the game was concluding, he unleashed a shot that caught Mumbai City FC goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa off-guard. The custodian fumbled the effort; with Cummings present right there like a fox in the box to bury the chance in the 44th minute and ensure that his team entered the break with a lead in hand.
The Islanders naturally decided to shake things up in the second half. They adopted newer courses of play, involving a long ball from Alberto Noguera to their Argentine striker Jorge Pereyra Diaz eight minutes into the second half. Diaz’s sharp offensive instincts were right there on display, calmly bringing the ball down, steering it near Vishal Kaith and slotting the ball into the back of the net to equalise the scores.
For a brief passage of play, it appeared that the game might head into extra time, but an unfortunate knock picked by Diaz in the 72nd minute opened the floodgates for the comeback by the visitors.
As the striker was taken off the field, Slovak striker Vojtus replaced him and was central to both the goals that Mumbai City FC scored after that. Bipin’s, one came through a scrambled effort where Vikram Partap Singh squared up a pass for Lallianzuala Chhangte at the edge of the box. Chhangte’s attempt at goal took a nick off Vojtus’ foot, but amidst a crowded situation, Bipin hammered in the ball to get his side the lead in the game.
The Mariners desperately sought to level scores in the added time of the second half, but they ended up exposing large chunks of space in the backline. Vojtus capitalised on one of those loose balls, getting control over the ball on the right side of the box and demonstrating impeccable efficiency to net his team’s third goal of the night.